Always There
by watch as i fall
Summary: “Why was it you? I don’t understand?” Hayley sobbed. How was she supposed to deal with losing Noah? It was all too much? How could she ever think of not seeing him again?
1. Everything Changes

**Always There**

_**Summary: Just something I wrote based on the shooting. I may add more to it.**_

**1. Chapter One**

_Everything Changes_

The two gun shots echoed around her head. She was numb in shock, she couldn't do anything. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move – she couldn't hear anyone. She knew someone was calling her name, but who she couldn't work out.

The last thing she remembered was screaming out a long and painful no. A no that made everything seem so real. The only word she hadn't wanted to have yelled out – it meant the worst had happened.

She placed her head in her hands and fell to her knees onto the wet, cold bitumen road beneath her. She sobbed hysterically, the tears cascaded freely from her eyes and down her cheeks. The salty taste seeming too normal in her mouth. Her eyes were already beginning to sting.

Though why was she sitting her worrying about herself? Two of her best friends could be dead? More tears escaped her eyes and she was no longer crying silently. Or Scott ... what if it was Scott? She couldn't bear to loose him. It was bad enough thinking she had lost him when _she _(she couldn't bear to say her name) told her he had died.

What if it was Hayley? Her best friend that supported her through everything? She could talk to Hayley about everything. Or Noah? Just as good a friend. Hayley and Noah had just got married it shouldn't be one of them.

Or Kirsty? Her sister? Who she had so many times told her she hated for ruining her life. She wished she realized sooner that she was ruining her life just as much as she was ruining hers. Or Kane? A year ago she wouldn't have cared, but now they (her Scott and Kane) had gone through this trauma together – she couldn't imagine Kirsty's grief if he were to die.

Or Flynn and Sally? She didn't talk to them as often, but would still be heartbroken if it were one of them. Two innocent people who had nothing to do with _her_. They didn't deserve to die.

Leah and Jesse even. Jesse had already endeared pain from _her _after he was shot. He didn't deserve this. Nor did Leah, or just as Flynn and Sally, had nothing to do with this. Another innocent bystander.

_This is all your fault _a voice entered her head that she could just make out over her hysterical crying, _that's right, your entire fault. _She stopped crying for a moment, _no _she thought, _it's her fault! She's the one in there! _The voice entered her head stronger than ever, _no it's not. It's your fault. If you hadn't have wrote that article all those months ago about him she wouldn't have come after you! Or if you didn't write that letter to the Gov – he wouldn't have died._

Dani shakily stood up and watched the events occurred before her and realized what had happened, realized whose life had been taken. She didn't even notice when her dad walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. A shocked expression was on her face, as the tears stopped, that voice was right. It was all her fault. Whoever's life had been taken was her fault – not _hers _(she still couldn't say her name), but hers!

Though she may have been in numb shock and hysterical tears she had no idea how intense things were inside...

_**FLASHBACK **_

_**LEAH'S HOUSE **_

"I'm not an unreasonable person," her cold voice sent shivers down all their spines, "I'll give you –" she gazed at the ticking clock, "– ten seconds for someone to confess who killed Felix. If you don't well then you know." She smirked at them all like she was enjoying, who knew maybe she was so twisted she actually was.

Those ten seconds had been the longest yet quickest time in all their lives. They wished it would last longer, but it seemed too long for comfort.

_Tick, tock._

Hayley felt Noah push her roughly behind him. Tears welled up in her eyes; she had never been so scared in her entire life. This shouldn't be happening to her or Noah. They had only just got married. They were supposed to be going to Paris.

She wouldn't be able to handle it if Noah had died – not so close to their wedding. Not so close for them going to Paris.

She remembered their wedding day as if it had just happened. Her father being their in spirit, her stumbling over the vowels and getting them wrong and mixed up. Noah standing looking handsome in his black suit. There first kiss as husband and wife – she'd never forget it.

Or what if she was the one to die? How would Noah deal with it? Would this be the last time she ever saw her friends and loved one again? Why did this have to happen? This shouldn't have been happening.

More tears fell down her face as she clung Noah, burying her head into his shoulder trying desperately to think back to a happier place. A blurred vision of her wedding day entered her mind.

_Tick, tock._

Kirsty clung to Kane as Sarah reached the number nine. How could this be happening to them? What had they done wrong to deserve this? Nothing, nothing at all. They didn't do anything to her, so why was she targeting them. None of them had killed Felix.

She knew herself that she wouldn't be able to handle it if Kane died. She couldn't handle the time he was away from her and he was still alive them. How would she cope? She'd go completely down hill.

Everything was finally turning out right for them. Their forbidden relationship had finally been accepted by everyone, she had got over her kidney failure and miscarrying her baby nothing else was supposed to go wrong. Their recommitment ceremony was supposed to signify that everything was going to be alright – nothing would go wrong.

How wrong was she?

She looked around at everyone, before silent tears cascaded down her cheeks. Why was this happening? After all she'd been through – after all they've been through. She couldn't handle this!

Why did everything go always go wrong?

_Tick, Tock_

"Eight," said Sarah breezily.

Leah looked down at the unconscious Peter, not now! She couldn't die not now – not with what Peter had just said. She had waited two years to hear this piece of information, but not like this.

"_Vinnie's alive. He's alive."_

The words were so clear in her head, as though Peter kept repeating them over and over again. She knew he had hit his head pretty bad, but even though Flynn thought that was the reason behind his announcement she knew there was truth to it.

She had wondered what he had been hiding from her ever since he lied about going to high-school with her. Now she had finally found out, she couldn't die! Not now that Vinnie was alive. Peter couldn't die either – he needed to tell her more about this.

That may have sounded selfish, but that wasn't the main reason why she wanted him too, but she really needed to know more about this.

"_Vinnie's alive."_

He's alive; it bought some comfort to her in such a horrible situation. Though she felt for everyone else. This should not be happening.

_Tick, Tock._

Scott leaned against the back of the room and folded his arms; he knew that everyone else was scarred and extremely worried. In a way he wasn't. He was worried about everyone else, but not himself.

This was all his fault, whoever died, was his fault. He made it happen. He brought her here. Why couldn't he have yelled out to the cops or something? She probably would have shot him, but no-one else would have had to go through all this. No-one would have to worry about whether they'd live again.

Would he ever see Dani again? He didn't know the answer to that question, but if he did die why would it matter? It _was _his fault. That's all there was to hit. He knew how much Dani would be upset. He was upset just thinking about the fact that he might never see her again. He might never have got the chance to propose to her.

He managed a quick glance at everyone. Seeing their scarred looks urged another ounce of guilt through him. Seeing them all so scarred, so worried, so frightened. It wasn't fair on any of them.

Why hadn't he had said something? If only he could go back and do it all over again. If only he had have said something! There were too many if onlys to think about. He started to wonder if he'd even get to see Dani's face again.

_Tick, Tock_

Jesse looked straight at Sarah. He was scarred, there was no doubt about that, but he wanted to know how the hell she could just stand and there look so calm – so happy about the situation. She was crazier than he thought.

He had already got shot because she pointed a gun at his head because he wouldn't tell her who killed Felix. He tried reasoning with her that she was the one who killed him and that she didn't know what she was doing that she was just trying to help him, but obviously that did not work.

Now here she was, escaped from a mental institution, pointing a gun at them all. Giving them ten seconds for one of them to confess something they didn't even do. He saw her face twist into a grin as she looked at them all. He managed to get a look at Leah. She was leaning over Peter, demanding that he wake-up he wondered what could have happened.

Leah, he was so worried about her. Sure they hadn't ended their relationship one the best of terms, but he still cared about her more than anything. If anything happened to her he'd have to live with knowing that he never told her that he didn't want them to hate each other for the rest of their lives.

He didn't want anything to happen to anyone else either. Maybe he could try reasoning with Sarah again, maybe it would work. He went to open his mouth, but Sarah seemed to sense it.

She looked at him with her cold, hard steel-blue eyes. "I wouldn't say anything if I were you. Unless you want to confess that you killed Felix, is that it?" She leered down on him.

Jesse was about to fire something back, but decided it was better if he didn't. He shook his head and glanced back at the ground.

Sarah looked at him before continuing to walk back and forwards across the room.

_Tick, Tock_

Sally looked up at Sarah nervously, Flynn had already pushed her behind him. She couldn't believe that this was happening in Summer Bay, she couldn't help but let the tears roll down her cheeks.

What if she never saw her daughter or her husband again? Sarah had already threatened to shoot Flynn after he explained that he could help her because he was a doctor. She couldn't cope if anything happened to either of them.

She saw Scott and automatically sensed that he was blaming himself. She looked back up at Sarah. "Please," she said quietly surprising herself. "We have babies in there." She couldn't even imagine the pain if something happened to Pippa or VJ for that matter.

"I'm not going to hurt them," said Sarah coldly. "The only person I'm going to hurt is the person who killed Felix. It's only fair."

Sally held on to Flynn tighter as the thought of never seeing him again drifted through her mind, why was this happening?

_Tick, Tock_

"Four," said Sarah quietly her voice just above a whisper.

She continued her parade backwards and forwards across the room. She looked down on them. To see them crying, the scared looks on their faces and wondering if they'd ever live again made everything worthwhile. Why shouldn't they suffer? One of them had killed Felix he had suffered.

"Do you think I want to do this?" she asked looking at them. "Well I don't."

It was true she didn't want to be doing this, she just wanted one of them – the one who had killed Felix – to die. It was justice, it was fair she decided. Why should the live when he was dead?

She remembered one of them saying she had killed Felix well she hadn't. She was helping him, it didn't kill him. Someone here bashed him to death. How dare they accuse her of killing someone? It was them – not her.

If someone didn't step forward soon she'd have to shoot someone randomly. It might not be Felix's killer, but it would frighten them to step forward. Maybe she could just close her eyes, point the gun and shoot. It would get everything over with. She didn't care if she got caught all she cared about was killing Felix's killer.

She looked at the clock on the table then back at everyone else. It was getting closer, she couldn't help but smile an evil smile this was great, it was justice.

_Tick, Tock_

"Three ..."

All the girls in the room, couldn't help but let out worried cries and sobs. Hayley held tighter onto Noah, Kirsty hugged Kane, Sally held onto Flynn and Leah was still leaning over Peter her tears falling onto his face.

"Two..."

The men were ready to protect their loved ones. They would jump in front of any of them to save their lives they loved them too much to let anything happen to them. Noah held onto Hayley tighter, Kane held onto Kirsty's hands as did Flynn to Sally's Jesse and Scott were ready to jump up aswell. Scott more than anyone.

"One..."

This was it. None of them had stepped forward she'd have to close her eyes and point. That's what she did. She pulled her finger back on the trigger she heard everyone screaming and shouting, but what did that matter? She was finally going to get justice for Felix's death. Finally, it was all over. She released the trigger and heard the gun shot echo in the distance and then she felt someone tackle her to the ground.

She pushed Kane away roughly and stood up. She pointed the gun at him this time, so what if more than one life was lost? It wouldn't matter? Felix wouldn't have minded. Just as she released another shot she felt some else push her away.

"NO! NOAH!" screamed Hayley, her eyes full of tears. She went to stand up, but someone grabbed hold of her and held her down. "NO!"

Sarah pointed the gun at Noah, but then quickly turned on her heels. She opened the doors and saw the flashing lights of police cars and then someone standing in front of her. She recognized at her – she was the one who had caused all this trouble. Maybe she had killed Felix?

Trembling she pointed the gun at Dani. She saw her shake her head and mouth a silent 'no, please'. She saw her crying, begging.

"Sarah! No!"

She spun around and saw him again. Maybe he did it, Sarah thought, maybe that's why he didn't want her to kill Dani. She pointed the gun at him. She saw his expression change to scared. She pulled back the trigger and then released it and then another one. She saw him fall lifelessly to the ground

"NO!" screamed Hayley.

Sarah saw her shake uncontrollably with sobs and fell down beside him, sobbing even louder screaming. She had done, she had got justice once and for all. Now all she had to do was be with Felix forever. She looked around the surroundings, the blaring police silence seemed way off in the distance. Everyone's screams seemed far, far away. She pointed the gun at herself and then there was nothing...

Nothing ...

Nothing, but darkness, sirens and sobs ...

Nothing would ever be the same ...

There was no reversing it ...

Everything had changed ...

_**Author's Note: How was that? I hope you enjoyed. Temporarily this was supposed to be one shot, but who knows I might add more to it. Let me know if you like it.**_

_Love and Light Lozzyxx_


	2. Always & Forever

**2. Chapter Two**

_Always & Forever_

**NB: Make sure you read the Author's Note!**

It didn't seem the same, someone was missing. There should have been nine people there, instead one was missing. One person that no one would ever forget. One person, who though they may not have known it, changed and helped everyone's lives in Summer Bay. Someone that words would not give justice too.

Hayley had her arms crossed as she walked with Dani and Kirsty, up to the cliff. The service was about to start and she didn't know how she would be able to handle it all. She had the support and love from her friends, of course, but she needed him. She couldn't face this without him. She remembered when they first met, they didn't actually get off on the best foot, but then they fell for each other. She loved him a lot. She remembered their first argument, they first time the took a break. She remembered how he helped her and she helped him. She remembered their wedding. The beautiful blue sky, her walking up the aisle. Seeing his face smiling at her. She would never forget that day. She would never forget him.

Everyone had stopped walking and looked up at Scott.

"No words can describe how we feel about Noah, so we can have silence so everyone can remember him in their own way."

Hayley felt tears in her eyes as she looked around at everyone.

_Flashback:_

_Kirsty stood there her mouth open in surprise. She couldn't move. She felt like she was going to faint. She held onto Kane for support. She looked at a crying Hayley to Noah lying lifeless on the ground and to Sarah, who was doing the same. She felt tears in her eyes ... no not Noah ... why anyone? _

_End of Flashback._

She remembered rushing out with everyone after they'd heard the gun shots. She remembered Dani falling onto her knees crying muttering it was all her fault. She remembered seeing Hayley's expression as she watched fall to the ground. She couldn't believe it had all happened.

_Flashback:_

_She looked over at Kane and collapsed, crying into his arms. She buried her head into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't bear to look at Hayley._

_As soon as Noah rushed after Sarah he had taken off after the both of them. He couldn't remember who else was there, everything was too sudden. When he heard the gun shots and Dani scream out no, he immediately thought it was here. So when he rushed quicker and saw Hayley on her knees leaning over Noah sobbing uncontrollably he was shocked. He didn't want it to be Dani of course, but Noah? He couldn't believe. Why the hell did he take her here? Why didn't he fight her or call out to the cops? They were right there._

_End Flashback._

He remembered seeing Dani saying that it was all her fault, but he remembered pulling her up and telling her that it was his, not hers. He remembered how good a friend Noah had been to him. How he was always offering advice, and he was really thankful for all of it.

_Flashback._

"_It's my fault," he said as he hugged Dani._

"_No," said Dani looking up at him. "It's my fault."_

"_No –" he stopped he couldn't believe he was arguing over something like that. His best friend was – dead. _

_He looked over at Hayley._

"_NO!" shouted Dani. She couldn't believe it. No – it was just a dream. "NO!" She fell to her knees, when she saw her best friend fall to hers._

_She began to cry and muter into her hands that it was her fault. Soon everyone was outside and sirens were all that could be heard against sobs and cries. She felt Scott pull her up and say that it was his fault. She said that it was her fault, but then stopped she didn't want to argue over that._

_End Flashback._

She'd never forget Noah and would never forget that day. Noah was a great person who did not deserve to go. She was so worried about her best friend, she'd be really supportive of her.

_Flashback._

_Flynn, Sally, Leah and Jesse rushed out just as ambulance officers rushed in and around the two lifeless figures on the ground. Not one of them could believe that Noah had actually gone._

"_I can't believe it!" said Leah. "Noah..."_

"_I know..." said Sally, she couldn't help but have tears in her eyes._

"_Is he dead?" Hayley looked up at Flynn. "He's not dead is he? Oh please don't let him be dead."_

"_I'm sorry Hayley," said Flynn, "but he's gone." He had to admit saying those three words were the hardest thing he'd ever said to anyone._

"_NO!" said Hayley. "No it's not true. Noah! Wake-up."_

_Jesse kneeled down next her. "It'll be OK Hayls."_

_The four of them couldn't believe it._

_End Flashback._

The four of them still couldn't believe. Flynn and Sally both remembered what a good councillor he was to the school (in his short time) and the Drop In Centre, which he put his whole life into. Jesse and Leah remembered what a guy he was and what a tragedy it was. All four of them knew that he had helped lots of peoples' lives.

"We'll never forget you Noah," said Hayley. She walked up to the edge of the cliff. She stood there, her face showing the sadness that she felt inside. She couldn't bear to look at anyone; she found comfort staring at the ground. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she made her way over to the edge of the cliff. The waves seemed to sense her mood and waved roughly against the bottom of the cliff, whilst the wave blew strongly and the grey, dreary sky contemplated everyone's mood.

She sensed someone next to her. She turned her head to the side, there was no-one there. Everyone was off in the distance, upset, but no-one would ever be as upset as she was, that just was not possible. Still sensing someone close to her she turned her head to the other side. Her eyes widened when she felt someone take her hand, what was going on? Suddenly Noah appeared before her.

She had to blink a few times, what was happening? This couldn't be possible; she was imagining things, seeing things that she wanted to see. That was the only logical explanation, Noah couldn't really be standing he next to her, could he? Though when she saw him everything felt all right, just as it did when she saw her dad at her wedding. She felt a calming sensation travel through her and suddenly felt relaxed.

"I can't do this," she said breezily, holding onto the urn tightly.

"Yes you can."

She held back her tears and swallowed, turning her head to face Noah. She bit her lip; he gave her a comforting smile. She tried to hold the tears back, but she couldn't they cascaded down her cheeks. "No, no I can't."

She felt Noah's hand on her shoulder and she looked into his eyes. "Yes you can Hayls. You're strong, I know that. I'll always be here for you."

Hayley managed a faint smile as she nodded her head. She closed her eyes and threw the ashes from the urn over the edge of the cliff. She watched them fall softly into the ocean below them. This was really happening, he was really gone. She took a few steps back, she turned her head, but Noah was no longer there. "I'll always love you Noah, forever and always, you'll stay in my heart..."

She turned around and saw Dani and Kirsty standing there, sorrowful looks on their faces. Hayley managed to smile at them. Maybe Noah hadn't left her at all, maybe he was still here with her? The though kept her going as she walked over to them. She linked arms with them and rested her head on Dani's shoulder as the three of them walked back over to everyone else.

"If you need to talk, love," said Irene softly. "I'll be here."

Hayley nodded slowly. "I – I just need to go home, lie down and rest."

"Of course," said Irene.

* * *

_**THE PALACE**_

Hayley slowly made her way upstairs and fell onto the bed, it seemed so big and empty without Noah laying their besides her. She lay back and looked up at the ceiling, wishing that Noah would come back to her like he did at the funeral. It was a wonderful funeral, everyone was there and everyone was wonderfully supportive.

This wasn't supposed to be happening though, she shouldn't have been burying her husband a month after they got married, and it wasn't supposed to be that way. They should still be celebrating, not mourning. She sat up before finally standing up and looking around the bedroom everything seemed so dark and isolated. Noah used to light up a room as soon as he entered it.

She had loved him so much, she still loved him just as much and decided that she would never love anyone they way she loved him. They had a tough relationship, but deep down she knew their feelings would remain for each other, but she wished that they never broke-up or took breaks from each other. They time they had seemed too short.

She got on her knees and reached under her bed, she fished around for a while until her hand reached a box. She pulled it out and placed it on her bed before sitting down. She carefully took of the lid and reached into the box and pulled out a few photos. Photos of her wedding day. She reached into the box and began sorting through them.

Suddenly there was a light knock on the door. "Come in."

Hayley saw Dani's reflection in the mirror. She continued to look at the photos and put them in different piles, thinking of the memory that when with each one, before placing them in the pile. She smiled as she looked at the recent on she had in her hand, it was of their first kiss of husband and wife. She held it longer and realized just how much she would miss hiss kisses and his warm, hugs.

Dani finally broke the silence and walked over to Hayley. "Hayls, how are you feeling?"

"Oh," said Hayley, "I'm fine."

"What are you doing?" asked Dani as she moved closer to Hayley.

"Sorting out the wedding photos," said Hayley as she turned around to look at Dani, she saw her best friend look at her, a worried expression creep up on her face.

"Hayls are you sure you want to do that? I mean right now...?"

Hayley managed another smile. "Yes. Noah and I were supposed to do it, but with everything that was going on we n-never got the chance. He'd want me to do this, besides there's nothing better to do."

"But it's so soon Hayls. Maybe you could –"

"Mope around the house all day feeling sorry for myself?" asked Hayley as she went back to sorting through the photos. "I don't think so."

"Hayls you're allowed to do that, you just –"

"I know Dani," said Hayley rather quickly, she didn't need Dani reminding her that she had just gone to her husbands funeral.

Dani looked away. "Hayls I'm sorry I –"

Hayley looked over at her again, "Hey, it's OK; you're just trying to help. Besides Noah wouldn't want that either."

Dani nodded. "OK. I'll leave you to it."

Hayley turned back around and looked at the photo in her hand, this time it was over her walking up the aisle. Even though she couldn't see him, she could still sense that her father was in that photo too. Just how she could sense that Noah was right there sitting next to her. She let a small smile play on her lips and leaned over and opened the blinds, letting what sunlight there was, shine through.

She looked into the mirror and saw Noah's reflection starring back at her. Something was defiantly going on, if she was just seeing Noah, why was the mirror showing his reflection too? She forgot about that and smiled at him. "You came back."

"I said I'd always be here for you."

"Dani's worried about me. She thinks I'm moving on too quickly." Hayley turned around and looked at Noah. "What do you think?"

"Maybe you are Hayls. It's OK to be upset about everything; you don't have to do what I would want. It's up to you."

"You heard what I said?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

She smiled again and felt more comfort go through her. She moved up on the bed until she was closer, she lay down on her side, her head rested on the pillow and looked at him as he lay down beside her. She moved her hand out and touched the side of her face. Was a figment of her imagination was supposed to feel so real? No, there was something going on. Noah _really_ was here with her. "I miss you already."

"I miss you too."

"How come you're still here?" asked Hayley; although she was upset she needed to know why Noah was here.

"Because you need me."

She smiled once more. "Well I'm glad that you are." She noticed him smiling and automatically could tell that something had happened. "What? Tell me?"

"Scott finally proposed to Dani."

It was then also that the she really knew that Noah was here, that just proved it. "Really?" and then she added with a laugh. "About time."

"That's what Dani said too."

Hayley smiled. "I'm so glad you here with me."

"I think you've already said that," said Noah smiling back at her.

Hayley laughed again. "Really? You know just the right things to say." She leant towards him, their lips touched for a second before he had disappeared. She rolled over on her back and closed her eyes.

"You're up," said Dani.

"Yeah," said Hayley as she walked down the stairs. "I had the best dream ever."

Dani nodded slowly. "There's something I –"

"Congratulations," said Hayley smiling. Though she was happy for her two best friends she couldn't help, but feel upset. Nearly two months ago she was planning for her wedding and _she_ was the one getting congratulated.

Dani opened her mouth in surprise. "How did you know?"

Hayley decided not to say anything about Noah; people would think she was going crazy. "I overheard you and Scott talking about it."

"Really?" asked Dani. "We weren't talking that loud."

"Oh," said Hayley. "I – I guess I have really good hearing."

"Yeah," said Dani. "Would you like some breakfast."

"Actually I'm going to go the beach. I'll see you later," said Hayley.

* * *

**_THE BEACH_**

Hayley felt like crying. She looked out into the ocean and saw people surfing. She remembered when she complained to Noah about not seeing the point of surfing. She said that it was boring and couldn't see the point of it, but he always argued back that it was good. She remembered when he used to drag her out of bed at the crack of dawn just because there was a '_good wave_'. She'd give anything to have that back again. She'd wake up early every morning if it bought Noah back.

She wished she could talk to him again. She wished she could tell someone about it, but she knew that people would think she was crazy. She knew she wasn't though. She really could see Noah. "I miss you so much," she said under her breath.

"I miss you too."

"Noah!" she cried, she turned her head to see him sitting next to her. "Oh I'm so glad you back."

"Can't resist watching surfing, can I?" he asked smiling.

"Oh Noah!" Hayley cried. "I can't do this. I need you."

"I'm here."

Hayley tried to hold her tears back. "I know, but I just miss you so much. I just don't understand anything, it's not fair."

"What's not fair," said Noah. "Is that I'll never be able to see you again."

"What?" asked Hayley. "You're here; you can see me – right?"

"Yes I can see you, Hayls, but I won't be able to stay here forever."

"No!" said Hayley. "You can't leave me."

"Hey," said Noah, putting an arm around her shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere yet."

Hayley felt more tears in her eyes as she rested her head on Noah's shoulder. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Hayley wasn't sure how much time had slipped away, but she felt someone calling her name.

"Hayley! Hayley!"

Maybe it was all a dream. Maybe nothing had happened at all. She'd just had one horrible, long nightmare. No, she couldn't live in denial. As much as she wished and prayed that nothing happened it wouldn't change. She'd have to live with it. She opened her eyes and slowly stood up. She saw Dani standing in front of her, a worried and sympathetic look on her face.

"Oh Hayls, we were worried. I'm so glad you're OK."

"How long have I been gone?"

"Three hours," said Dani. "Come on, let's go back home."

"Just wait," said Hayley. She walked towards the edge of the water. "I'll always love you Noah, forever and ever."

It was true, he might have been _gone_, but as long as she lived she would always love him. She would _never_ stop loving him, she would never love anyone the same as she loved him. It would stay that way _forever_...

**Author's Note:I know, not as long as the first, but I still like this chapter a lot. It shows how much Hayley really loves Noah and that she misses him a lot. It also featured the funeral, which I hope you guys like. I didn't have an eulogy because I wouldn't have been able to write one that did Noah justice. I'm going to look back at the song "Always There" and see if I can get any lines or ideas from that. There's a line from the song in here, ten points if you guess which one it was. I'm trying to work on my writing skills, to make people cry. I cried while I wrote this, but I cry over anything. Well I hoped you guys liked reading that chapter as much as I liked writing. Let me know what you think in your reviews. Criticism is accepted. This fic has been the only one I've been really happy with. Also for interest I wrote this while listening/watching the "Always There" MV which features Hayley/Noah I couldn't stop crying! Word Count: 2, 955 (don't expect long chapters all the time!). **

_Love and Light Lozzyxx_

P.S Hayley/Noah 4eva!


	3. The Long Goodbye

**3. Chapter Three**

_The Long Goodbye_

_She ran as fast as she could, she had never felt happier in her whole life. She had finally reached the beach and saw him walking along the water's edge looking sad – disappointed even. She knew exactly how to cheer him up. She rushed over to him and flung her arms around him. "Yes!" she cried tears of happiness streaking down her cheeks. "Yes!"_

_She saw him take a few steps back. "What?"_

_This was strange; he didn't seem himself, what was going on? "Yes! I'll marry you!" She smiled at him. She couldn't wait to see his reaction; they'd finally be together – forever. She felt happiness swell up inside of her. _

_He stood there in silence. "Hayley I can't marry you."_

_She dropped the green, velvet box to the ground. The tears of happiness were changing to shock, confused and hurt ones. She didn't understand, the ring was hers wasn't it? "What? W-w-why? I d-d-don't understand..."_

"_I can't marry you because I'm not going to be here-"_

_She looked around, her surroundings had changed. She was at Leah's house. How did she get there so quickly? What was going on? Where was Noah? She stood up – where was everyone? The house was in darkness and everything seemed too quite – something was wrong. She was starting to feel scared; she closed her eyes hoping this was all a dream and she'd wake-up._

_Slowly she opened them only to see a bunch of people sitting in front of her, including herself! How could this be happening? How could there be two of her? She saw everyone grouped together, terror planted on their faces. All of a sudden she knew what was going to happen – no she couldn't let it. She would stop it._

_The events replayed in front of her all in slow motion, but no matter how much she shouted or cried no one even looked at her. She watched the terror unfolded and was powerless to do anything about it. She screamed as gun shots were fired and Noah rushed outside. "NO!" she screamed._

_She raced past him, still no one paying any attention to her. She reached Noah and was standing directly behind him. She screamed out again, no she couldn't let this happen again! She had already experienced this pain and loss before she didn't need it to happen again. "NO! NOAH!"_

_She saw him fall to the ground; it was replayed over and over again in slow motion – slower each time. She saw her other self rush over to him and collapse to the ground next to him and cry hysterically. She saw everything take place, but she couldn't do anything, why couldn't she have done anything? Why! WHY! She burst into tears. "NO!" she cried._

_All of a sudden her other-self turned on her. "This is your entire fault!"_

_Hayley stared, tears in her eyes. "I'm s-sorry – I tried to stop it – I couldn't."_

"_Well you didn't try hard enough!" her other-self said bitterly. "This is your entire fault! You just let this happen ... how can you live yourself? This all your fault that Noah's dead."_

_She fell down to her knees too, right next to her other self, it all felt so real and horrible. Why couldn't she have done anything? Her other-self was right, this _was _her fault_._ "Noah!" she sobbed. "Wake up ... please ... Just wake up ..."_

"_No ... Noah ..."_

"NO ... NOAH!" She screamed and flung up in bed, she breathed in and out slowly before falling back down on the pillow. That dream was so horrible and realistic. That was the second night in a row she had it, but the first time her other-self had turned on her, and it had gotten worse. It was so hurtful having it. Knowing she couldn't do anything about, knowing that she was powerless against it ... why hadn't anyone listened to her? Why couldn't she have done anything to help him? All of them? She felt tears in her eyes. She pushed herself up again and got out of bed; she walked over to the window and opened it. She felt the cool sea breeze on her face and something touch her shoulder. She turned her head and smiled. "Thanks."

"It was just a dream Hayley."

"I could have stopped it from happening," she said, tears still in her eyes. "I could have stopped it."

"Shh," said Noah, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders. "It was not your fault."

"Y-y-yes it was," she sobbed, burying her head in her hands. "It _was _my fault. I could have stopped it from happening ... It shouldn't have been you ..."

"Hayls it was a dream," said Noah. "That's all it was. You need to stop worrying about it."

"It should have been me," she said tears in her eyes. "Not you ... me ..."

"Don't say that Hayley," said Noah. "You think I could have handled loosing you?"

Hayley broke down in sobs, "But I can't handle loosing you. I don't want you to go..."

"It's OK. I'm still here. I'll stay as long as you need me." said Noah. "You just have to stop blaming yourself."

Hayley wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "I'll try... Though my life is pointless ..."

"Life goes on Hayley," said Noah.

"Not for me," she said sadly. She walked away from the window and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"I won't you to come with me Hayley," said Noah.

"Where?" she asked.

"You'll see, come on," said Noah.

Hayley stood up and took his hand. She walked downstairs and saw Scott and Dani talking. When they caught her looking at them they immediately stopped. "If you guys are talking about your wedding, it's OK." She said softly. "I'm just going out for some fresh air."

Dani nodded. "OK, Hayls. We'll see you later."

Hayley walked out of the house. They walked in silence, even though she could see Noah no one else could. No one else would believe her either, if she told them about it. People would think she was crazy if she started going around talking to Noah. They reached the Caravan Park. She looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"You'll see go inside," said Noah.

Hayley walked towards the back door and knocked softly.

"Come in!" someone shouted.

Hayley walked slowly in. She saw that everyone was laughing and smiling, even Beth. She stopped when she saw Hayley.

"Hayley."

Hayley saw her walk over to her. "Hey."

"Can I help you with anything love?" asked Beth. "How are you feeling."

"You're so strong," said Hayley. "I wouldn't have been able to handle it."

Beth looked at her confused. "Sorry?"

"Your first husband died, didn't he? How did you handle that? Not to mention Rhys walking out on you and everything. How?" she asked.

"Life goes on," said Beth. "Of course you do get upset and everything, but then there are the people who really love and care for you. You concentrate on all the happy things in your life."

Hayley nodded, her face still pale, her eyes still red. "OK ... what are you doing at the moment?" She played with her hands as she saw everyone in the room look at her; she wondered how everyone could be so happy, how they could get over everything so quickly.

"We're getting ready for Max's farewell at the Diner, you're coming aren't you?" asked Beth.

Hayley looked around. "I don't know, I don't think I'm in the mood for celebrating..."

"Oh come on love," said Beth, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It may help."

"I don't know," said Hayley, still not looking at Beth. "I'll t-think about it."

"That's OK," said Beth. "I'm not going to push you."

Hayley found herself smiling. "Thanks Beth. I'll see you later." She quickly waved goodbye and walked out of the house. Once she was out, Noah had appeared by her side. She looked at him. "What was that all about?"

"You'll see," said Noah.

Hayley didn't question him anymore, she knew that he was doing everything for a reason and she'd just have to let time run its course and see what happened. She wasn't even paying attention to where she was going, but somehow she managed to end up on the beach. She turned to look at Noah, "It's always the beach – isn't it?"

"Hey, there' a perfect wave out there. Right swell and everything," said Noah.

Hayley smiled. "I thought we already discussed surfing?"

"There can never be enough discussion on surfing Hayls."

Hayley smiled again, as she sat down in the sand, next to Noah. She was actually begun to wonder why she could see Noah and talk to him, she knew that it wasn't a figment of her imagination and she wasn't crazy, but she was still curious. She sat their in silence, just staring out into the ocean, watching the surfer.

"Hayley?"

She looked up from where she was sitting and saw Flynn, standing in front of her. She managed a weak smile and stood up. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

"OK, I guess," said Hayley looking around. "Actually I was wondering if I can ask you something."

"Sure, go ahead."

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but I can see Noah," she paused to see the expression on his face, but then continued on. "Like _really _see him. I can talk to him and he talks back to me. Do you think that there is something out there – or that I'm – _crazy_?" She looked down at the ground.

"Hayley it's quite common to 'see' and 'talk' to people after they've passed on. Grief affects us in a way to make it seem possible, though it's all in our minds. Sometimes it can help us get through it, but then sometimes there's too much. As for something out there I don't think there is."

Hayley bit her lip. "So you think I'm crazy?" She _could _see Noah, she was sure of it.

"Of course not – its normal –"

"I'm not imaging it," said Hayley. "He's really there. The same thing happened to me on our Wedding Day, I saw my Dad."

"Hayley I –"

She sighed. "Don't worry; thanks anyway. I'll see you later." Hayley folded her arms across her chest and begin to walk away, her hair blowing in the wind. She knew she wasn't crazy, but then why did she have to ask someone to make sure. No, she could see Noah. "Noah." She turned around and saw that he wasn't anywhere in site. She sighed, and continued to walk.

* * *

"So then I thought that we could have the party here?" suggested Dani. "I mean I knew I was going to have it at Beth's, but then everything happened with mum and dad, so I don't want her to feel obliged to have the party there, you know? Plus she's organizing Max's farewell.

"I asked Scott and he said that it would be fine, but I should check with you that it would be alright. You don't mind do you Hayls? I mean I'll cancel if you do."

Hayley sighed and looked up, she had been listening to Dani go on and on about her and Scott's engagement party for a good fifteen minutes. She hadn't had the energy to say that she wasn't up to discussing engagements parties, so she just decided that she'd just go along with whatever Dani had to say. "Yeah sure, that's fine."

Dani smiled. "Thanks Hayls, now everything's going to be perfect."

Hayley nodded. "Hmm, that's good..."

"Are you OK Hayley?" asked Dani, sitting next to her friend.

"Fine..." said Hayley. She looked everywhere but at Dani.

"Oh OK," said Dani. "Well it's nearly time for Max's farewell, are you coming?"

Hayley shook her head. "Don't feel like it."

Dani nodded. "Well OK, if you're sure ... Scott's meeting me there. We'll see you when we get back."

Hayley watched Dani grab her phone and bag and walk out the door, with a quick goodbye. Hayley sighed and fell back on the lounge. It had hurt her so much when Dani was talking about engagement parties ... she remembered organizing her and Noah's ... She looked around and suddenly something caught her eye. She quickly sat up and saw Noah in front of her. She gasped, "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack?"

"No, but let's go."

"Go?" asked Hayley confused. "Go where?"

"To Max's farewell of course," said Noah. "It's just started – people won't mind if you're late."

"But I don't feel like going," Hayley said stubbornly. "Everyone will be happy and I'll be all miserable..."

"Didn't going to Beth teach you anything?" he asked a smile on her face. "I took you there for a reason..."

Hayley shrugged. "I don't know ... Fine let's go..."

Noah smiled. "Good, not that you had a choice."

She felt another smile on her face. "You always make me happy, you know that?"

"Oh Hayley you made it! It's good to see you love!"

Hayley looked up and saw Irene. "Oh hi ... sorry I haven't seen you for a while."

"No problem love," said Irene. "Just as long as you're not blaming yourself."

Hayley bit her lip, "Well I was – but well I –"

"Spit it out," said Irene.

"It will sound too crazy for words," said Hayley. "No one will believe me."

"Try me."

"I can see Noah," she said quickly, she looked around and saw that he was standing by the door of the diner smiling at her. "I mean really see him. I can talk to him ... I spoke to Flynn about it and he said that it was normal for the grieving process, but its more Irene – it really is." Hayley watched Irene's expression. "It's OK; you don't have to believe me..."

"Of course I do love," said Irene, though she didn't sound very sure. "If you can see Noah then you can."

Hayley smiled, "Thanks. Um ... how's Tasha?" She asked trying to make conversation, she wasn't sure what else to talk about.

"Not that good actually," said Irene.

Hayley looked over at the table Tasha was sitting at. She was resting her head on her hand and twirling a straw around her milkshake with the other. "What's wrong with her?"

"Blaming herself for what happened to Noah."

"What?" Hayley questioned. "How can it be her fault? She wasn't even there!"

"That's what I've tried to tell her love, but she won't listen to me. Maybe you could talk to her for me?"

Hayley bit her lip; she didn't really feel like talking that much, but then she didn't want Tasha to blame herself over Noah's death, when it wasn't her fault at all. Hayley walked over and sat opposite of Tasha. "Hey? Irene told me you weren't feeling that good. How are you?"

Tasha looked up at Hayley, she then quickly looked down again and began to swirl the straw around once more. "How come you're talking to me?"

"What? Tash why wouldn't I be talking to you?" Hayley asked looking at; she was confused as to why Tasha would think something like that. "Tasha?"

"Because it's my fault," said Tasha silently. "It really is. I mean if I let Rene get rid of that gun like I said she could then Sarah couldn't have got in a-and –" Tasha's voice began to break. "N-Noah would still be here ..."

Hayley looked at Tasha and she suddenly couldn't believe that she was blaming herself for this, all that motivation she had lost came tumbling back to her and she found herself saying, "Tasha don't you **_dare_** say it's your fault. So it may have been your gun that doesn't mean anything at all. I mean did any of us know that Sarah was going to break into the house? Did anyone know that Sarah was going to escape? That was not your fault Tasha. It wasn't your fault at all. No one could have stopped it from happening – we all may wish that we could have, but we can't. Blaming ourselves for it isn't going to help either. No one knew what was going to happen that night – each one of us can say 'if only we did that' or 'it's my fault if I did this –' but it's not going to bring Noah back. Do you think he'd want us to be sitting around blaming ourselves?"

Tasha slowly shook her head. "No, but –"

"There's not 'buts' about it Tasha, it's not your fault. You had nothing to do with it. Please stop blaming yourself. Believe me, Noah doesn't want that. It is not your fault. It never has and never will be."

Tasha's face broke into a huge grin. "Really?"

Hayley nodded. "Really." That's when she suddenly realized that it wasn't her fault either. How could she have been in control of the events that happened that night? Now she could see what Noah was trying to get at. As she watched the people around her chatter and smile and Tasha walk off happily to Irene she realized that as terrible as events may be in life and as much as you think it's terrible life goes on. She realized that there was no point sitting around blaming yourself and not doing anything about it for the rest of your life. It wasn't going to help anything – or anyone. She suddenly let a smile on her face and realized it was the first time she done it on account of Noah not being there. She looked around and saw that he was walking out of the diner.

She suddenly rushed out after him, ignoring Irene's questions. She called out to him. "NOAH! Wait! Where are you going?" She felt tears in her eyes.

"I'm going Hayls."

Sadness filled her eyes as more tears began to flow – and to think she was happy moments ago. "No ... Noah please don't go. Please I don't want you to go..."

Noah looked at her. "Hayls you've answered all these questions before – you were just thinking about them. That's why I took you to Beth and brought you to the Dinner. It's time for me to go Hayls." He began to walk again.

Hayley rushed after him again, she realized that she was where she scattered the ashes at the funeral. The sky was bright blue and the water was calm, it wasn't contemplating her mood at all. "I know, but I'm still not ready for you to go."

"Yes you are Hayls," he said taking her hands. "I have to go."

She collapsed into his arms. "No Noah ... please ... just a little longer."

"I can't Hayls. I promised that I'd stay until you needed me, and you don't anymore. You'll get through this – you have friends here who love you just as much as I do. I can't stay here forever either, I have to move on also."

"Why was it you? I don't understand?" Hayley sobbed as she stepped back though in her heart she knew Noah was right.

"No one will Hayls, it's just the way things turn out," Noah answered. "No one knows how these things work, but we just have to put up with them no matter what the consequences are."

Hayley nodded. "I'll miss you..."

"I'll miss you too."

"Goodbye," she said sadly. "I wish it wasn't though ... wait maybe it doesn't have to be."

"Hayls I –"

"No," she said quickly. "Can't I come with you?"

"Don't you even think about it Hayley Lawson," Noah replied quickly. "There are too many people here who care about you. So don't you even think about it for one minute."

Hayley nodded. "OK, you're right."

"And it doesn't have to be goodbye Hayls, I'll always be there for you. Always."

Hayley nodded. "You're right." She gave him one last lingering hug and a quick kiss and then he was gone.

Her whole body shook with sobs, as she fell to her knees on began crying hysterically. Nothing she realized before seemed to matter any more – she didn't care that she had realized that life went on or that it wasn't her fault, when she had thought of those things it didn't occur to her that Noah would be leaving her – she didn't think that he wouldn't be staying with her forever. She couldn't work out how quickly her mood had changed, but she didn't really care. All she knew is that she'd never bee seeing Noah again and that she didn't know if she'd ever be able to handle that. It was seeing him that got her through the last couple of days – it was him that made her realize things and now he was gone...

The goodbye she had just shared was too long ... it was the longest goodbye she had ever said to anyone and she didn't know if she'd be able to make it through.

**Author's Note: Done! It took me about a week to write this, and I'm still not happy with it. I wrote this during a time I didn't have internet access or available lyrics to: '_Always There_', so I'm going to put this up for now, but I'm considering changing this, as I want more lyrical input of '_Always There_' to be in this chapter. It was very important and I think I didn't cut it – I'm trying to get the goodbye more emotional. However I still liked this chapter, especially the dream and how Hayley realized that wasn't her fault. Hope people didn't think it was too unrealistic how Hayley went from all happy to all sad and depressed. And yes I stole the chapter name from the HA Book, but what ya gonna do about it (lol :P). Next chapter will be called: '**Life is Precious**'** **and will be the final one! Word Count: **3, 525 **I don't think it's long enough – although it is a record for my writing! Anyway hope you liked it! **

_Love and Light Lozzyxx_

**P.S. Finally! I haven't been able to log on - or access for ages!**


	4. Life is Precious

**Always There**

**Summary:** "Why was it you? I don't understand?" Hayley sobbed. How was she supposed to deal with losing Noah? It was all too much? How could she ever think of not seeing him again?

**Rating:** T

**Warning: **Mentions of suicide.

**Note:** Finally, this is the last chapter. I want to thank all my reviews and everyone who encouraged me with this story, I love you all! A lot of this chapter is based on personal feelings of me… So I hope it seems realistic enough… Also, I apologize if it's too short or whatever… Enjoy )

**4. Chapter Four  
**_Life is Precious._

The cool, sharp blade touched her skin, she rested it there for a while looking at her reflection in the blade. A sunken-faced, pale girl stared back at her, with tangled hair, and black bags under her red, tear-stained eyes. Her appearance would be surprising to anyone who knew her… Normally she was such a bright happy person.

She was going to do it, she had to do it. She pressed the knife a bit harder onto her wrist so that it dug in a bit, not hard enough to cut though – just hard enough to leave a mark… She had to do this. She deserved to do this. She had ruined everyone's lives. It was her turn to pay.

She closed her eyes and remembered. Remembered how she got the knife in the first place…

_Flashback:_

_She walked into the kitchen, and paused. She heard voices – Dani and Scott's voice to be exact and they were talking about someone – talking about her._

"_I'm really worried Scott," said Dani. "She won't leave her room at all. I just don't know what to do… I just wish she'd let me help her."_

"_Dan," said Scott. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She'll let us help her when she's ready."_

"_But she's –" Dani stopped when she realized that Hayley had walked in on their conversation._

"_You don't have to stop talking about me just because I'm here," she said coolly before walking over to the kitchen drawers. "Go right ahead."_

"_Hayley I understand how you must be feeling but –"_

_Hayley wasn't sure what it was, but something inside her just exploded and she just needed to yell – shout get everything off her chest. "YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA HOW I'M FEELING!" She shouted, her face turning red. "So don't you **DARE** say that you do!"_

_Dani looked on in shock. "Hayley I –"_

"_Shut-up! Just shut-up!" she shouted cutting her off. "I'm sick of everyone. Sick of conversations being stopped soon as I walk into a room. Sick of people asking me every twenty seconds how I am. Sick of being questioned. Sick of people saying they know how I feel. I'M SICK OF IT! I'M SICK OF IT ALL!" She took a few deep breaths before looking up into the shocked faces of Dani and Scott. She pulled the draw open roughly and scanned it for what she was looking for the._

_The long blade of the carving knife caught her eye. She quickly picked it up. She turned around and began to walk back upstairs. It was then that Scott and Dani realized what she was about to do._

"_Hayley!" screamed Dani. "No… you don't want to do this."_

"_You don't know what I want," snapped Hayley glaring at her. "You have no idea about me at all."_

"_You can't do this Hayley," said Scott. "We won't let you." He lunged for the knife, but Hayley backed away._

"_You can't tell me what to do," she said tears cascading down her face. "I just want to be happy… Please… Please, let me be happy. I just want to be with Noah… please" she trailed off silently to herself. _

_Dani walked over to her friend and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hayley we're here for you. We want to help you."_

"_I don't deserve your help," said Hayley, clutching the knife so tightly her fingernails were digging into the palm of her hand. "I'm doing this… I'm sorry." With that she quickly rushed up the stairs, into her room, slammed the door and shut it._

_End Flashback._

She heard Dani and Scott's shouts and thumps on the door, begging for her to open it. Begging for her to not do what she was about to do. She sighed and looked into the mirror. This would be the last time she looked into this mirror… the last time she sat on this bed… the last time she'd hear Dani and Scott's voice.

"I can't believe your doing this. After all you promised me."

Hayley turned her head and saw Noah standing behind her. "I want to be with you."

"No, you can't." said Noah firmly.

She stood up, still clutching the knife. "But why… Please Noah, please… I can't…."

"Hasn't what happened to me taught you anything Hayls?" questioned Noah, looking at her. "Hasn't what happened to me taught you that life is precious. You shouldn't waste a minute of it because you don't know when it's going to be your last. You should not be ending your life so soon Hayley. You have too much to live for."

"You were my life Noah," she said tears in her eyes. "You were everything I lived for."

"I know that I was important to you Hayls, but you have everything else too. What about your art? And your friends?" he questioned, as Dani screamed another 'Hayley open up!' through the closed door. "You can't say they'd want you to do this."

She stared straight at him, determination set fiercely in her eyes. There was no way Noah was going to stop her do this, she was stubborn – she'd admit that. It would be the only way she'd be truly happy.

"This isn't what you want Hayley," said Noah calmly. A clouded expression on his face, as he watched Hayley pace up and down the room. "I know it's not what you want."

She starred at him. Straight at him. Tears blurred her vision, but she could still see him clearly. He knew her. He knew her too well, and sometime she hated that – like now. But most of the times that's what she loved the most. She knew in her heart that what she was doing was unreasonable… and unnecessary, but too her at this moment it didn't matter. At this time all that mattered was Noah. No one had any idea what she was feeling – or that's what it felt like… To her right now the only thing that mattered was being able to be with Noah forever. It was weird… she _knew_ that this wasn't the right way, but that _didn't_ matter – it _couldn't_ matter.

"Hayley?" questioned Noah. "You're not going to do this are you?"

More tears were in her eyes as she couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to her knees. She blocked out Dani and Scott's screams, she blocked at Noah's shouts at her stop, she blocked out everything but the tears… This was the right thing to do. This was the _only_ thing to do.

She was going to make things right.

She was going to make things right…

_**Forever**.

* * *

_Hayley opened her eyes, she was standing next to Noah. She looked at him confused. Dani and Scott were starring straight through her, like she was invisible.

"I guess this is goodbye then," said Dani as she picked up her bag and chucked her ring on the table. "For good."

Scott shook his head. "Don't bother saying goodbye.."

Dani rolled her eyes. "I don't know what I ever saw in you," spat Dani. "You're unbelievable… I wasted nearly two years of my life with you."

"You didn't waste _your _life Dani. I wasted mine."

Dani glared and stormed out of the door slamming the door so hard that on the cupboard near the door, a glass fell off a smashed into a thousand pieces, the pieces of glass flying everywhere.

That's how Hayley felt right now, like she was one of those pieces of glass… being smashed, breaking up into pieces. Breaking down. She managed to speak. "What's going on?"

"Dani and Scott are over," said Noah simply.

Hayley looked at him. "C'mon Noah, you can't believe me to believe that the only reason Dani and Scott are together is because of me.. That's just unbelievable!"

"Maybe," said Noah. "Or, maybe not. You never know how one action can lead into a huge consequence Hayley. Take for example me being shot."

"What?" questioned Hayley. "What's this got to do with anything? And what's going on?"

"Dani wrote an article Hayley.. she wrote one tiny article. And look were that lead." Noah explained as he continued to look straight ahead.

Hayley's eyes widened. "I never thought of it like that before…"

"You were always helping Dani and Scott sort their problems out," said Noah. "I guess with you not around they just couldn't take it anymore… Not with what happened with you…"

"Me?" Hayley looked at him. "What do you mean 'with what happened to me'?"

"Oh," said Noah casually. "Didn't I mention? You died Hayley."

Hayley's mouth opened. "I'm what?"

"Later," said Noah.

* * *

"What? Is this the beach-house? How did we get here?" Hayley surveyed the lounge room. To say that it was messy was an understatement. Clothes were all over the floor and the lounge. Dishes were piled up to the roof in the kitchen and empty bottles of beer lay on the table. She quickly looked at Noah. "Irene's drinking again?"

"Yes," said Noah. "With you not being around and Tasha running away, I guess she thought she had nothing anymore."

"Tasha ran away?" asked Hayley. "Why?"

"Well you really helped her when you talked to her that day in the diner. She finally realized it wasn't her fault, but then when she heard about you dieing, she blamed herself for that too… No one could tell her otherwise. She ran away. No one's heard from her since."

Hayley put her hands to her head trying to contemplate it all… She was supposed to make things better not worse… What had she done? More tears were in her eyes. "Oh my god Noah! What have I done? What have I done?" she started crying hysterically.

"Shh," said Noah pulling her too him and hugging her. "It's OK Hayley. Everything will be OK."

"How can you say that?" questioned Hayley. "Look what I've done! Everything is always my fault! I'm causing problems even after I'm dead."

"Well that's the good thing Hayley," said Noah simply.

Hayley looked at him puzzled. "Good? What?"

"You're not."

* * *

Before Hayley had the chance to ask what she left really light-headed and then everything went black. 

"Oh Hayley! Hayley! Thank god! You gave us such a fright girly!"

Hayley turned her head to see Irene sitting beside her. She looked around the room and she that she was in the hospital. She looked down at the bandage around her wrist. She turned her head. "Sorry."

"Hayley!" shouted another voice. "Oh my god! You're awake!"

Hayley managed to smile at Dani. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize love," said Irene taking her hand. "It's not your fault. You were going through grief. You weren't accepting Noah's death, that's why I think it's best if you see a councilor… I made you an appointment in the city."

Hayley nodded, she wasn't thrilled about the idea, but new it was for the best. "Thanks Irene.. Dani."

Dani smiled at her. "Hayley you scared me.. I thought I was going to lose my best friend.. Please know that I'm here for you."

Hayley sat up and nodded. "Yeah I know… I know that my life is great. Not perfect, but great. I have friends and family who love me… and life is precious. Noah taught me that…" And for a second she thought she saw him standing in front of her bed, a smile on his face starring down at her. And from that moment, whether she saw him or not, she knew things were going to be OK.. She knew that they'd take time, everything did. But she knew that eventually she'd get there and that's all that mattered at the moment. She'd never tell anyone about what happened of course, but she knew that it had taught her the greatest lesson ever. With her friends and family around life _is_ too precious to just throw away.

**The End! **

Author's Note: I was so nervous about posting this chapter! It's so personal to me… I really want you guys to like it. I hope it doesn't seem unreal.. or whatever. I've had so much fun writing this story. It's defiantly one of my best. And I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Review and let me know what you think :)

Lozzyxx


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